In Sickness
by Sakura02
Summary: They had been cuddling in Cabin Three when it suddenly dawned on Nico that he wasn't in the mood for Percy's foreplay. Not used to having Nico so resolutely refuse his advantages immediately led Percy to believe that Nico was coming down with something. No BOO spoilers.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Well, except the plot to this story.**

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><p>DAY 1<br>They were cuddling in bed in Cabin Three, Percy the instinctive alpha male, and Nico trapped somewhere between Percy's strong arms and his own body's palpable desire. Nico was overly tired and just being held the way he was made him extremely sleepy. He felt needed when he was with Percy—wanted even—and the novelty of it made the sensation all the more pleasurable.

When Nico felt Percy's warm breath tickle the hairs on the back of his neck, he did his best to bite back a moan, getting rewarded with soft lips sucking just below his jawline. Next was a gentle tug to Nico's earlobe that made him shudder, a reaction that made Percy chuckle breathily in his ear and have the drive to become that much more aggressive.

He pulled Nico's head over his shoulder so that they were facing and he took a moment to drink in every feature of the younger boy's face. Nico's eyes were barely open and his pale cheeks were flushed with unmistaken need. His breathing was heavy and it was the instant his lips pulled into the faintest of smiles that was all the invitation Percy needed.

Their lips met forcefully between them, with kisses so passionate that Nico was left breathless, lightheaded, and vaguely satisfied. He yawned in spite of himself, and when Percy advanced toward him once again, Nico reluctantly turned away.

Nico couldn't see it, but Percy's face fell into an almost comical childish pout.

"Ouch," he said. "Was I that bad?"

"Sorry, I can't help it. I'm exhausted."

"That's not the impression I was getting two minutes ago."

Nico turned his body so that he was facing Percy again. "You don't exactly make it easy for me to resist," he said stifling another yawn with his hand.

"Are you okay? Do you want to call it a night?"

"No...I don't know," Nico said shaking his head. He sounded conflicted. "I mean, I'm always tired, but this is different. I feel weak..."

"You sure you're not coming down with something?" Percy asked. He brushed Nico's curly hair from his face, his fingers gliding over the other boy's cheek. "Whoa, yep, definitely warm. Man, and here I thought I was the one making you all hot and bothered."

Nico blushed, brushing Percy's hand away. He was completely flustered by Percy's words, but tried to play it off as indifference.

"You're unbelievable, Jackson." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I just need to sleep. I'll be fine in the morning."

Percy pulled the covers over them and turned off his bedside lamp. He trusted Nico's judgement, and the way the boy worked, he probably could do with a little sleep. He pulled himself closer to Nico, wrapped his arms protectively around his smaller frame and closed his eyes.

/

Will Solace was not a happy camper with the sight that greeted him in the doorway of Cabin Seven.

Nico stood before him, arms folded over his chest, seeming to radiate so much pure hatred that Will was tempted to take a few steps back. Percy was behind him, grinning smugly, as though he was blocking Nico's only means of escape. Both of their heads glistened with dew from their trek through the overnight fog.

"Can I help you with something?" Will asked. He was more than a little perturbed at having to be awake at this hour, especially since he'd spent the whole afternoon treating Athena kids after their humiliating (and uncharacteristic) loss at capture the flag, and he hoped that his tone would be more than enough to send them away.

"I can't sleep," Nico mumbled to his shoes.

"Look," Will said. He was trying really hard not to roll his eyes. "Unless you've got something better, I'm sure the Hypnos cabin would love to—"

"He has a fever. Oof!"

Nico had just elbowed Percy in the solar plexus, leaving him doubled over and gasping, that goofy grin still on his face.

Will sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. A fever was something he could handle, as much as he didn't want to. "Come in then."

After several minutes of Nico describing his symptoms, with much coaxing from Percy and even more yawning from Will, Nico was given the all clear to return to his cabin. Or rather, Percy's cabin, but Will wasn't about to let on that he knew anything. With Nico's skittish nature, he was bound to leave Camp Half-Blood forever if Will so much as gave the impression that he understood Nico's relationship to Percy.

In the end, Will diagnosed Nico with the flu (after having already seen a few other cases popping up around camp, a large number coming from the Hermes cabin) and gave Percy some instructions on how to care for him. When Nico shot him a suspicious look, Will explained that in the next few days Nico was probably going to be too ill to take care of himself, so it was better to let someone else handle the caregiving. Nico didn't look completely convinced, but let it slide, and for that Will was grateful.

DAY 2  
>Nico woke up that morning feeling like death. Not like capital-D Death, just dead-like. Like a zombie. His head felt heavy and his whole body ached. As he shimmied further down into the sheets, he felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around him. He sighed, knowing he was safe with Percy there beside him.<p>

"How are you feeling?"

Nico knew Percy was half asleep by the way his words slurred together slightly when he spoke. It was cute, and Nico opened his mouth to give Percy his whole rant about feeling like death, but all that came out was a croak. He settled for whimpering pathetically and burying himself further into the two comforters Percy had the foresight to outfit him with earlier.

Percy opened his eyes and dug his way down to Nico's level. "That bad, huh?"

Nico nodded. "This sucks." His voice was a hoarse whisper and he had the feeling that that was as loud as he could get right now. His throat felt like it was coated with sandpaper and swallowing was about as painful as choking down a mouthful of the Phlegethon.

Without warning, Percy untangled himself from Nico and began gently rubbing Nico's throat, almost as though he was trying to massage the hurt away. Nico didn't realize he'd closed his eyes until Percy pointed it out later, and he lied and said the shudder that rippled through him was solely a chill from his fever.

"You know what else sucks?" Percy asked.

Nico hesitated to answer, afraid Percy was about to say something highly inappropriate. What he got instead wasn't much better.

"The fact that I can't do this," he stopped rubbing Nico's throat and pressed his lips between Nico's neck and collarbone, "all over your body."

Percy sucked hard over Nico's flesh. Nico told himself he was much too weak to get turned on, but that didn't stop him from balling up Percy's hair in his fists and arching his back despite himself. He gasped as Percy pulled off his shirt and lavished kisses up and down his torso. Without his shirt, he shivered to keep warm, and it was that same trembling that caused Percy to pull back and meet Nico's eyes.

The younger boy's eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with black. His face was whiter than chalk, save for the red splotches that colored his cheeks with fever. And despite how miserable he looked (and undoubtedly felt), Percy just wanted to hug him, to wrap his arms tighter around him to keep the shivers at bay and to pepper every inch of him with kisses until the hurt all went away.

Percy pecked Nico on the cheek, like a single snowflake on the warm desert sand. "What do you say we call it a day?"

Nico's expression was a mixture of disappointment and relief. It made Percy smile, so he kissed him again.

Nico responded by pulling the first comforter over his face and sneezing forcefully into it.

Silence.

"Nico?"

"I'm covered in snot. How is it even possible to sneeze on your own face?" Nico's voice broke a little as his rasp got in the way of his exclamation.

The image of it (though kind of sad), made Percy laugh, and Nico felt as Percy rolled out of bed. He was in no fit state to care that his boyfriend was making light of his misery. After all, no one else was going to stick around to take care of him.

"I'll get something to wash you off and bring you another blanket. Do you want a new shirt?"

"Why? You want to rip it off and have your way with me?"

Again, the sound of laughter filled the cabin. Nico almost smiled.

"That's a yes to the shirt then."

DAY 3

As usual, Nico woke up to the feeling of strong arms hugging his body. And although he always relished in the comfort of knowing he wasn't alone, today it felt like Percy was encasing him in an oven and the thought of several more blankets on top of them made Nico's head spin. He squirmed in Percy's gasp, quickly realizing he was trapped.

"Percy," he whined. "Percy, get off."

When Percy remained asleep, Nico began to panic. He tried struggling, working to put an arms-length distance between him and Percy's overly suffocating body. His fight lasted about thirty seconds before what little strength he had was completely depleted. He was really dizzy now, and...

Oh, Gods.

In a last ditch effort to get himself free, Nico balled up his fists and repeatedly pounded on Percy's chest, not caring if the other hated him for it later. Fortunately, his tactic had the desired effect and Percy stared down at him groggily.

By then, Nico could wait no longer. "Let me go!"

Startled by Nico's sudden outburst, Percy's grip slackened around him, giving Nico just enough time to roll over the side of the bed and vomit onto the cabin floor.

It wasn't much since the only thing Nico had eaten were a few crackers the night before, but the combination of being dizzy and waking up so uncomfortably warm, left him dry heaving for several more minutes.

When he was certain his stomach was done trying to pull itself out from the inside, he collapsed onto the mattress, a drained and shaking mess. Percy, who had sprung into action the moment he heard Nico being sick, continued to rub soothing circles into Nico's back and muttering encouraging nonsense to him until he was finished. Now that he was, Percy gently pulled Nico so that he was no longer hanging halfway off the bed.

He brushed Nico's bangs from his forehead, feeling the intense heat that radiated off his skin. Nico looked up at him with glassy, unfocused eyes that stabbed at Percy's heart.

"I was hot...," Nico mumbled, shutting his eyes. "Couldn't breathe...dizzy."

Percy gave him a sympathetic smile. "Hey, I get it," he said taking Nico's words for an apology. "I'm just sorry you're so sick."

"No more snuggles," Nico said deliriously.

"Okay," Percy chuckled. "At least until you're better. After that, all bets are off."

Nico nodded, his eyes still closed.

"Guess that means I'm on cleanup duty again. You gonna be okay until I get back?"

Another nod.

In the time it took for Percy to leave the cabin in search of a mop, wipe the floor beside the bed, and return with a glass of water, Nico's body had cycled through all different forms of horrible. Aside from the vomiting and the persistent raging fever, his head hurt, his body ached, and his throat was dryer than bone. He constantly felt like he had to blow his nose, only to be left congested and unable to breathe unless he opened his mouth, leaving his lips cracked and bloody. To top it all off, he hadn't been able to kiss Percy in a really long time.

As Percy cleaned up around him, Nico stared up at the ceiling, fighting off the lingering dizziness and thinking about the older boy's soft, pleasantly wet lips. If Percy continued to tease him with gentle caresses and promises of things to come, Nico didn't know how much longer he could wait.

A glass of water in his face startled him from his daydream. Nico blinked and met Percy's eyes.

"You all right there? You were," Percy cleared his throat, "staring."

Nico felt his cheeks grow warmer. "Y-Yeah, sorry. I'm fine, you know," he put his hand to his stomach and gestured to the spot Percy had just mopped, "considering this."

As Percy smiled knowingly at him, Nico could not help but wonder: was this fluttering in his stomach the same nauseous feeling as before or the wings of several little butterflies brought on by his very own thoughts? This had never happened to him. Thoughts of Percy were always swirling around his head, but they'd never made him feel this anxious before, this embarrassed.

He made room as Percy sidled in beside him, watching the older teen yawn widely and stretch his arms high over his head. Percy smiled sleepily at Nico and extended his hand.

"May I?" Percy asked. He had the dignity to look a little abashed.

Nico nodded, allowing Percy to cup his overly warm hands in his. They held each other's gaze for a few moments before Percy moved his hand to smooth Nico's hair (with so much time lying in bed, his hair was starting to stick out at odd angles). Nico sighed, relaxing under Percy's tender touch. If he was a cat, he probably would have purred as Percy continued to pet his hair.

Eventually, he closed his eyes.

DAY 4

"I'm bored."

"We can watch a movie."

As the days went on, Nico was slowly regaining some of his strength. He was still relatively needy, and Percy was extra vigilant at night, making sure that Nico was comfortable enough to get as much rest as he needed to get well again. It was because of those long, nearly sleepless nights that Percy had returned home one evening and picked up his mom's portable DVD player. He'd found that, while Nico was positively adorable when sleeping (especially when he softly murmured Percy's name, which was more frequent than Percy would ever have imagined), being ADHD did have its setbacks and that included lying in bed for hours on end with nothing to keep his attention.

"I want to watch The Walking Dead."

"Really? I would think you have enough death in your life than to want to watch an entire series based on it."

Nico frowned. "I don't want to watch the whole series. And don't patronize me—not all of us can live happy-go-lucky lives with ocean spray and hippocampi."

"Fine," Percy sighed. "Which season do you want a watch?"

"The first one. It's the one that most closely follows the comic." When Percy gave him a skeptical look he added, "Leave me alone. I was a sad and lonely little nerd. I needed something to read to pass the time."

"You're still a nerd. I'm just glad I've taken care of the sad and lonely parts."

Percy got that lustful look in his eyes that drove Nico crazy. He just hoped the reddening of his cheeks would simply be taken as side effect of his fever.

"My Gods, Percy Jackson, I cannot wait to kiss you."

"Whoa there, Ghost King. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves."

Nico couldn't help it, he pouted. Percy laughed (he seemed to be doing that a lot during his time caring for Nico) and sat on the bed, setting the DVD player on his lap. He beckoned Nico to scoot closer to him, the offer readily obliged. Nico, starting to feel a little tired, leaned up against Percy's arm, an act that got him a quick peck to the top of his head. Nico gave a small smile and snuggled closer.

They had only made it ten minutes into the first episode when Percy said, "Did you know you sniffle every fifteen seconds?"

Nico, who had already been feeling himself about to doze off, snapped his head up. "What?"

"It's true. I hadn't really noticed before, but once I did, it's kind of hard to not listen for it."

"Was that comment even necessary? I feel bad enough as it is without you telling me my sniffling is getting in the way of watching tv."

"Nico, it was just an observation. I didn't mean—"

"Forget it," Nico said lying down with his back towards Percy. "I don't want to watch it anymore."

1, 2, 3, 4...

"I'm sorry!" Percy flipped the player closed and put his hand on Nico's shoulder. "I swear I didn't mean anything by it."

8, 9, 10...

Nico shrugged him off. He honestly didn't know why he was mad. He knew Percy wasn't trying to be hurtful, but he was tired and sick and his head hurt, and he was completely over feeling like this.

"Nico," Percy tried.

14, 15, _SNIFF!_

Damn it! "Leave me alone! I just want to go to sleep."

Nico began to cough, a wet hacking sound from deep within his chest, and he winced as the coughs wracked his body and shredded his throat. He pulled the blankets tighter around his body, leaving him unable to receive any sort of comfort from Percy, despite how the part of him that wasn't being a stubborn child desperately craved it.

Percy sighed, defeated. "Okay then. Get some rest, Nico."

DAY 5

Today was the first day in nearly a week that Nico woke up and didn't immediately feel the need to fall back asleep. His body was sore and swallowing was still nothing short of painful from coughing, but he knew that his health was headed in the right direction. He turned to Percy, wanting to tell him the good news.

Unfortunately, Percy was still asleep. Nico watched him silently, noting the dark rings under his eyes and how he slept with his mouth open. Nico smiled fondly, noticing the thin trickle of drool. He felt guilty. Really guilty, knowing that Percy had sacrificed so much for Nico by taking care of him while he was ill. He realized then that he had rarely seen Percy sleep and when he had, Nico had usually woken him up with his own needs.

"Thank you," Nico said. "I know there's so much more you could be doing instead of having to take care of me like this."

"I'm doing it because I want to, not because I have to."

Nico recoiled. He hadn't realized that Percy was awake. But when Percy's eyes remained closed and his breathing stayed the same, Nico figured Percy was only responding to him out of habit. The thought didn't ease his guilt any, knowing that Percy was still there for him when he was the one who should have been resting.

He reached out and stroked the lines of Percy's face, his fingers tracing along the older boy's parted lips. They were warm and plump, and when they puckered slightly to suckle his index finger, Nico couldn't help himself—he giggled.

He pulled his hand back, instead moving his whole body forward. He felt an unyielding desire to kiss Percy, to lavish him with everything he wasn't able to do because he was too sick and what Percy had so carefully restrained himself from doing for the very same reason.

Percy, who must have sensed the other boy's closeness, snaked his arms around Nico and pulled him closer. Their lips met at last, Nico giving everything into his kisses, despite how tired and breathless it made him. Percy, no longer asleep, fought back a smile as Nico tugged at his bottom lip with his teeth. The act was rewarded with a ferocity in their love for one another, and when Percy began to kiss him harder, Nico was at first hesitant but willing to slip his tongue into Percy's mouth.

Percy chuffed at Nico's sloppy and desperate attempt at French kissing, and Nico pulled away briefly to tell his boyfriend to _shut up_, before moving back to his lips, his chin, his neck. Nico didn't care about his actions, only aware that this was the one remedy he craved.

/

"Nico..."

He sighed as Percy's pleading whine was cut short by a round of dry coughs. They had taken a short nap after their long-awaited escapade, Nico having exhausted his slim energy reserves and Percy weak after having to care for Nico. It had abruptly ended when they were woken by the sound of Percy coughing up a lung, much like he was now.

Nico rubbed his back until he was finished. He sympathized with Percy, he really did; those coughing spells were horrible. Not only that, Percy was running a high fever.

"This is all your fault," Percy bemoaned.

For a moment Nico's face was stricken—taking Percy's words like a slap to the face—before he allowed his features to soften. His lips twitched, giving the vaguest semblance of a smile.

"Need I remind you that _you_ kissed _me_?"

Percy sighed and rubbed his temples; he had such a headache. He wasn't sorry that he kissed Nico and he certainly didn't regret having his hands all over him throughout the week. Nico had needed the cheering up, and what kind of boyfriend would Percy be if he wasn't willing to help him out?

He only hated that he had gotten sick. If this is what it felt like to have the flu (he assumed there had been some godly intervention because he felt _terrible_), then he felt bad about not letting Nico sleep as much as he should have, because that's all he wanted to do.

Nico seemed to get the hint. He grabbed Percy's hands and pulled them down to his sides, giving Percy a gentle kiss to his forehead. Maybe it was a little childish, but Nico hoped it would help. Percy was definitely warm and Nico knew exactly how he felt. He also knew that Percy couldn't have gotten sick from their last kiss, but it was more likely a product of him exposing himself to someone with the virus and taking all his time and energy to care for that person. That made Nico feel more than a little guilty.

"I'm sorry," Nico whispered.

"Hmm?" Percy opened his eyes blearily. Those sea green orbs that Nico loved to stare at were now bloodshot and rheumy.

"I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get sick too."

"Of course you didn't," Percy said grabbing Nico's face in his hands. He pulled their faces together and kissed Nico deeply on the lips. "Now, please, I need to sleep."

Nico nodded, pleasantly dazed by the feeling of Percy's lips against his. Percy smiled weakly when he noticed Nico staring. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy and kissed him again.

"Hold me," Percy breathed.

Nico readily complied, feeling Percy's warm body against his own. He had the sudden urge to take Percy right then and there, but he managed to restrain himself, knowing that neither of them would appreciate it later.

He continued to embrace Percy long after the older boy ended their kiss so he could turn and cough roughly into his pillow. He smiled as Percy nuzzled affectionately against his shoulder, his breathing evening out as sleep began to claim him.

"Sleep, Poseidon's son. I'll be here to return the favor in the morning."


End file.
